Teaser: It’s Kevin

I don’t like sketch shows. I’m trying to learn to like them by forcing myself to watch them. I was skeptical going into It’s Kevin because not only is it a sketch show, but it’s a sketch show based around one person’s talent. This is very different than the actor-as-writer comedians writing their own sitcoms because there’s really no story to tell or characters to develop. It’s really a vanity project, a comedy vehicle to prove one’s chops and therefore more open to snickering. (Luckily, Kevin Eldon is a comedy genius.)

After the ridiculously over the top theme song with Kevin Eldon prancing around singing, the first sketch had me laughing so hard, tears streamed down my face. It begins with a belligerent drunk (Eldon) dragged into the hospital by a cop. I can’t even tell you the punchline because I want you to go watch it. Although this took away my skepticism, none of the other sketches in episode one quite lived up to this 1. I guess it raised the bar.

The show is pieced together by Kevin Eldon playing himself in a white no-man’s land (avec couch) introducing each new sketch. And by introducing, I mean sometimes, if we’re lucky, he says something that vaguely has something to do with what we’re about to see.

Like most sketch shows, the sketches vary in quality, but it is on the whole entirely watchable and enjoyable.